Arc of Solitude
by Litzana
Summary: Bakura, Ryou, Kerah and Marik at Hogwarts. What could possibly go wrong, especially with Dragons, Mer-People and Sphinxes on the loose? Not to mention the Yule Ball...
1. A Whole New World

**Welcome, people, to my third fanfiction!**

**As you can probably guess, this is a YGO/HP fanfic. However much you ask, however, I will not add pairings. NO! Not even tendershipping!**

**This story takes place during the fourth Harry Potter book, Goblet of Fire. **

**I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR YU-GI-OH! IF I DID, THERE WOULD BE MORE LEMON SMOOTHIES!**

* * *

Yu-Gi-Oh and Harry Potter come together in:

**Arc of Solitude**

Chapter One: A Whole New World

Your average day in Domino City. People going past, looking from shop window to shop window, the noodle cart that's always there on a Monday, and two fair-haired miscreants lounging in an alley…

"I have no idea why I hang out with you when you're like this."

"Shut up, Marik."

"I mean, you're so grumpy… What's the matter now?"

"Shut up. I mean it."

"Bakura, I will definitely have to do something about your wild mood swings." The boy named Marik poked the other.

"Do that again and I will wound you. Severely."

So, the annoying brat that he was, Marik poked him. Again.

Ten seconds later, Marik was pinned to the ground, attempting to fend off the knife aimed at his throat.

"Alright, alright! I get it!"

Bakura rolled off Marik and stood up, stowing the knife in the recesses of his long black coat.

"You'd better. I am not in the mood for your pratting about."

There was silence for a minute. The excess of jewellery that Marik wore glinted in the afternoon sunlight.

"So… What's wrong?"

Bakura sighed. "My host received a letter this morning."

"What's so bad about that?"

Bakura reached into his coat and pulled out a square of yellow parchment. The wax seal was still discernible – the crest of a lion, snake, badger and eagle surrounding the letter 'H'.

Marik snatched the letter, reading it.

_**Mr Ryou Bakura**_

_**Apartment building**_

_**The only bedroom**_

_**Domino city**_

_**Dear Mr Bakura.**_

_**I am delighted to inform you that you have been given a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry this coming fall.**_

_**Please find enclosed a list of all the supplies you need, along with your train ticket on the Hogwarts Express.**_

_**Term begins September the first.**_

_**We hope to see you,**_

_**Albus Dumbledore**_

_**Headmaster.**_

"What the hell? A school of magic?"

"I was suspicious at first – it sounds like the kind of prank that Joey Wheeler would pull – but evidently not."

Marik laughed. "No way. I want to go too…"

A screech came from above as a large white owl swooped down from the sky, landing on Mariks head. He shook his head wildly. "Argh! Get it off!" He pulled the Millennium Rod from his belt and waved it around his head, attempting to knock the heavy bird off.

Bakura cracked up at the sight of Marik dancing around like a loon, with the large bird on his head. After about a minute, he composed himself.

"Marik, the Millennium Rod is hardly to be used for swatting birds."

"Well, get it off then!"

Bakura sighed. "If I must." He whistled softly and held out his arm. The snowy owl flapped off his perch on Mariks head and landed on Bakuras arm, sticking one leg out.

Bakura untied the bulky letter with one hand, flipping it open and reading it.

Then, he groaned.

Marik finished rearranging his hair, and snatched the letter from Bakuras hand. "What does it say?"

_**Mr Marik Ishtar**_

_**Lone alley **_

_**Domino city**_

_**Dear Mr Ishtar.**_

_**I am delighted to inform you that you have been given a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry this coming fall.**_

_**Please find enclosed a list of all the supplies you need, along with your train ticket on the Hogwarts Express.**_

_**Term begins September the first.**_

_**We hope to see you,**_

_**Albus Dumbledore**_

_**Headmaster.**_

Marik whistled. "I got one too!"

Bakura reached in his pocket for his knife, flipping it in his hands, fingers moving lightning-fast.

Marik flinched. "Put that away!"

Bakura ignored him and began to walk away. However, he didn't get far. The snowy owl flew after him and pecked him. Hard.

"Infernal bird! What was that for?"

The bird held its leg out again. A small scroll was also attached to it.

Bakura muttered to himself and untied the scroll. The bird flew away.

_**Ryou Bakura and Marik Ishtar,**_

_**A guide will be with you shortly.**_

Bakura crumpled the scroll and put it in his pocket, leaving the alley and a surprised Marik behind.

Marik just sighed. He was used to Bakura acting like this.

He just turned, retrieving his motorbike from where it was leaning against a wall and wheeling it out of the alley.

Bakura was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

**(AN: Well, how about that? Bit mysterious, eh?**

**Now that the first chapters finished, and all the introductions, yadda yadda, I can get down to the grooooove!**

**One question, though... Would you prefer Hagrid or Dumbledore as the 'guide'? Answer in your review! Yup, that's the li'l button below this passage.**

**See you in later chapters!)**


	2. What to do, Where to go

**Litzy: Hello again!**

**Bakura: I don't see why you have to shout…**

**Litzy: Of course I have to shout! There are people reading**

**this in America, you know!**

**Ryou: Doesn't mean you have to shout.**

**Litzy: Uh-huh. I don't own Harry Potter, Yu-gi-oh!, Mariks motorbike, ect, ect…**

**Key:**

_[Bakura communicating with Ryou]_

_[[Ryou communicating with Bakura]]_

_(Yami conversing with Yugi)_

_((Yugi conversing with Yami))_

"Speech"

_"Incorporeal beings (E.g Bakura outside the Ring, ghosts) speaking"_

"Speech in a language alien to the area (E.g Ryou speaking Japanese in England)"

_"Incorporeal beings in a language alien to the area"_

* * *

_Yu-Gi-Oh and Harry Potter come together in:_

**Arc of Solitude**

Chapter two: What to do, where to go...

_The next morning…_

Ryou woke up with a headache. No surprise there, then.

"Good morning," he said brightly, to no-one in particular.

He was answered with a grunt.

Ryou shook his head, and slid out of bed, picking up a hairbrush from the bedside table and vigorously attacking his hair. He ignored the person reflected in the mirror, behind him. He always did.

"_You got a letter."_

Ryou set the brush down. "So it wasn't a dream?"

"_Unfortunately, no."_

Ryou crossed the room to where his coat was slung over a chair. He fumbled in the pocket, until he drew out four pieces of parchment.

"Hang on; I thought there were only three…"

Another grunt.

There was a rustle of parchment as Ryou read the letter.

"What does it mean, a 'guide'?"

"_Presumably whoever sent us this letter is going to send us a guide to acquaint us with this hidden world."_

"What, so you don't know it?"

"_Never heard of it in my extremely long life."_

"Figures."

Bakura disappeared as Ryou began to dress.

_Later… _

Marik looked at himself in the mirror, rearranging his jewellery.

"Ishizu!" He shouted.

His sister walked through the door. "You don't have to shout, Marik. I was just in the next room."

"So what do you think?"

"What about?"

"The letter!" Marik turned away from the mirror. "You know the one from the weird school?"

"Oh, that. Well, you can go, I guess… But Odion won't be happy."

Marik shrugged. "Odion is never happy."

As predicted, Odion wasn't happy.

"Odion, it's only a year…"

"And how am I supposed to protect my master if he is halfway across the world?"

Marik shrugged. "I don't know."

"Exactly." Odion looked triumphant.

"Maybe we can smuggle you in as a pet…"

Odion gave Marik a rare death glare. Marik just laughed. "OK, maybe not." He walked out of the room, saying over his shoulder, "I'm going to go and find Bakura. I'll see you later."

Ishizu frowned. "We haven't finished our discussion yet, brother-"

But the roar of a motorbike outside interrupted her as Marik raced away into the city.

Ryou walked down the High Street, heading for his school. His bag felt heavy on his shoulder – he had four assignments to hand in, and he'd had to stay up late for the past week to finish them, thanks to the annoying voice in his head.

_[Hey, I helped you with that!]_

_[[Only one of them, and that's because you're an expert.]]_

This was true. The name of the assignment was 'Life on the streets in Ancient Egypt'. Ryou had written about the life of a street thief, carefully not mentioning the Millennium Items.

The roar of a motorbike sounded behind him. Ryou groaned, and turned around.

Marik was roaring up the high street, his hair flying back under his purple-and-cream helmet. He braked sharply as he drew level with Ryou, skidding onto the pavement.

Ryou jumped back. "Please, Marik, don't do that…"

Marik took off his helmet, shaking out his hair. "Why not?"

"It's dangerous…"

"But it's also fun. Live a little, Ryou!"

Ryou sighed. "One day, you're going to kill yourself, Marik."

Marik grinned. "Yeah, yeah. Hey, you excited about going to this school?"

"What – Oh, this Hogwarts place?" Ryou fished his letters and equipment list out of his pocket.

"Yeah. Although – Cauldrons? Broomsticks? Wands? Where are we going to get that stuff?"

"Presumably our guide will tell us."

"Our guide?"

"Yes. Bakura picked up a letter for both of us yesterday… Don't tell me he didn't let you read it?"

Marik frowned. "Nope."

_[Don't blame me. I forgot.]_

_[[No, you didn't. You just couldn't be bothered.]]_

Ryou sorted the letter from the other three pieces of thick parchment and handed it to Marik. "Here."

Marik read it. "A guide? What's that about?"

"I don't know. Anyway, I've got to get to school..."

"Ha! I don't have to go."

"Try it sometime. It might be illuminating."

Marik grinned again and revved his bike. "Well, Ryou… Give the Tomb Robber my greetings… And tell him I'm going to kill him later."

Ryou sighed again. "Yes, OK, Marik."

Marik wheeled his bike around and roared back into the maze of alleys that led around the city. Ryou shook his head, looking after him.

* * *

**(Hmm... Odion, smuggled in as a goldfish... Heh.**

**Mostly filler, this one. Please remember to review it, though...)**


	3. Saying Goodbye

Yu-Gi-Oh! and Harry Potter come together to bring you...

**_Arc of Solitude_**

_Chapter three: Saying goodbye_

_

* * *

_

_Lunchtime. 10th graders form room, Domino High. _

_[Aren't you going to tell them?]_

Ryou was eating his lunch away from the rest of the group. He wasn't paying attention to them – They were duelling again.

_[[They won't miss me.]]_

Bakura materialised next to him, looking grumpy. _"Well, then. I'll tell them for you. Consider it a favour."_

"What? No!"

The group looked round at Ryou's outburst. "Something wrong, Ryou?" Asked Yugi worriedly.

_(Yugi…) _The Pharaoh sounded extremely worried.

_((What is it?))_

_(That's not Ryou…)_

Bakura folded his arms, leaning back on his chair. His cold, cruel, insane eyes surveyed the surprised group of teens in front of him. "What's wrong?" His voice was instantly recognisable as not belonging to Ryou Bakura. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

Joey jumped up and pushed Yugi behind him. Tristan stood next to him, fists raised.

Bakura just sat there, glaring at them. "Evidently not." He stood up, and Tristan and Joey closed in around Yugi. "Keep away!" Tristan shouted.

Bakura winced. "I don't see why you have to shout… I'm only a meter away from you." He plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled out his Fiend deck, riffling through it until he came to a particular card. "It would be so easy to send you fools to the Shadow Realm…"

The Pharaoh immediately switched with Yugi. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, get off your high horse, _your majesty_. Luckily for your goons, I've decided not to. I would only get grief from my host later."

Yami looked surprised. "So why…"

"Why have I shown myself now?" Bakura turned away, so his back faced the three boys. "My host has been transferred to a different school."

Tristan gasped. "What?"

Joey just grinned. "That's a good thing, right?"

Bakura raised an eyebrow, back still turned. "How so?"

"Well, we won't have to worry about you…"

"Not the most tactful person, are you, Joey?" Tristan pushed Joey into a desk.

Yami stood there, the two parts of his soul conflicting.

_(Yugi… Joey is right. It does mean we won't be worrying about Bakura stabbing us in the back…)_

_((How can you say that? Think about Ryou!))_

_(Well…) Yami felt guilty. (I guess so, but…)_

_((But nothing.))_

_(Sorry, Yugi. But I am curious about why he's transferring again… Last time it was because of his Spirit and the board game 'Monster world'.)_

_((Why don't you ask him?))_

_(And you really think Bakura will tell us?)_

_((It's worth a try…))_

Yami blinked. Bakura turned back round as he felt Yami and Yugi change places.

"Well, boy? Is his holy mightiness allowing us to leave?"

"Us?"

Bakura grimaced, shaking his head. "I mean me. Is he allowing me to leave?"

"He wants to know why Ryou is transferring."

Bakura chuckled. "I'm sorry. That's personal information; you'll have to ask my host. Unfortunately for you, he's not here at present…"

Yugi frowned. "Well, let him talk!"

"No chance. I have business to attend to." Bakura turned swiftly and walked out of the classroom door, nearly knocking over Duke Devlin, who glared at him. Bakura glared right back, and whispered the words 'Penalty game' to him. Devlin turned white and walked quickly away.

_

* * *

__Meanwhile…_

Marik raced around the outskirts of the city on his motorbike. He was extremely bored, more than usual.

He screeched to a stop next to a road, watching the cars go past. He reached for his Millennium Rod absentmindedly, and twirled it in his hands.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Marik turned. There was someone stood behind him who wasn't there before. "Who the hell are you?"

"I am Professor Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Marik shook his head, confused. "I don't understand what you're saying. Speak Japanese or go away."

The man sighed slightly, and held up a long sticklike object.

Marik raised an eyebrow, holding up the Millennium Rod. "Snap."

The man muttered a few words, pointing the stick thing at his own throat. Then, he tried again.

"Let me reiterate. I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Marik raised an eyebrow. The man had spoken in perfect Japanese. "From that school?"

"I sent you a letter, Mr. Ishtar."

"I know."

Dumbledore chuckled slightly. "Well, then. I expect you want an explanation?"

Marik nodded. "Well, for the start, I want to know about your magic. I mean, come on. Magic?" Marik knew very well about magic. After all, his Millennium Rod was a Shadow Magic artefact that could control minds, and his best friend could banish souls.

Dumbledore smiled. "Well, I think a demonstration is in order…"

He looked up and down the road, to check whether anything was coming. All clear.

He flicked his sticklike object and Mariks motorcycle turned into a white rabbit.

Marik's jaw dropped. "How… What…" He just stood there, watching his favourite motorbike nibbling on a roadside weed.

Dumbledore chuckled, and flicked the stick again.

Marik looked at it warily. "What is that?"

"This?" Dumbledore held it up. "This is my wand. It is an essential tool of wizarding life."

"A stick?"

"No. A wand may look like a stick, but it has been created with a single purpose in mind – to cast spells. It usually has a core made from a powerfully magical creature, most commonly a dragon, phoenix or unicorn."

Marik raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Whatever."

He turned to his motorbike, which was still nibbling the grass. "Would you mind restoring my motorbike?"

Dumbledore nodded and flicked his wand again. The bunny rabbit returned to its original form.

Marik strode over to it and swung his leg over. Dumbledore nodded slightly. "I will visit your home later to explain things to your family."

Marik didn't reply as the motorbike roared away.

* * *

Bakura wasn't in the next lesson. In fact, he wasn't even in the school – He was halfway across town, talking to a weird old man who had just turned his knife into a rubber chicken.

He stood there with a raised eyebrow as the man – who had introduced himself as Professor Dumbledore – explained to him about magic.

Of course, he was already extremely proficient in one branch of magic – Shadow Magic – but Dumbledore didn't need to know that.

"So. Just to sum this up." Bakura leant against a convenient wall and crossed his arms. "You are the headmaster of a school that teaches children with specific magical powers how to use them correctly. The powers center on 'Wands', which channel the power.

And, yet, you didn't notify either Marik or myself when we were twelve. Why?"

It was Dumbledore's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Something was blocking you."

Bakura snorted in derision. "Yes. So you don't know, then."

He turned away from the old man. "Before I go, you might want to restore my knife. It's the only one I have."

Dumbledore sighed and flicked his wand. The rubber chicken squeaked and turned back into a knife.

Bakura walked away.

* * *

Yup, I decided to use Dumbledore. Don't kill me, loyal fans!

Review and tell me what I could improve. Oh, and by the way... Check my profile page. It contains a guide to reviewing that could be useful.


	4. Do you realise the danger?

_Yu-Gi-Oh and Harry Potter come together to bring you:_

**Arc of Solitude**

Chapter four: Do you realise the danger?

_

* * *

__Six O'clock. Bakura residence._

Ryou sat at his small desk, feverishly scribbling away at a chemistry report. Something about Sulfer Dioxide and the molarity of HCl. Or something.

_[You spelt 'Sulphur' wrong.]_

Ryou sighed and corrected the offending word.

_[Also, are you finished yet?]_

_[[Be patient. It'll be finished when it's finished.]]_

Bakura fell silent. Ten minutes later, Ryou put down his pencil. _[[There. I'm done.]]_

_[Finally!]_

Ryou drew back as Bakura took over. He stood up and brushed himself off – _[Why must you be so messy with your pencil shavings?]_

No reply.

Bakura shook his head and grabbed his coat from where it lay, carelessly tossed on Ryou's bed.

He exited the apartment, and promptly collided with someone, who swore in Arabic.

"Marik. What, exactly, are you doing here?"

Marik, for it was he, grimaced and rubbed his arm. "I came to get you. A man from that school turned up where Ishizu and I are staying, and he said to get you."

"Me, specifically?"

"He said Ryou."

Bakura sighed theatrically and rolled his eyes. "Then it seems my little errand is to be cut short. Again." He pulled back and roughly pushed Ryou forward.

_[[That was quick.]]_

_[Shut up and go with Marik.]_

Marik watched Bakuras face. If you looked closely, he blurred slightly when they switched.

"Come on, then, Ryou. We'll take my motorbike."

Ryou winced slightly. "But isn't it a one-seater?"

"And?"

* * *

_Five minutes, twelve recklessly turned corners and one terrified Ryou later…_

Ryou slid off the motorbike behind Marik and staggered away. His face was in interesting shade of pale green.

"Remind me to never ever accept a lift from you again."

Marik shook out his blonde hair and grinned widely. "Aw, you just need to get used to it."

_[Ienjoyed it.]_

_[[You would.]]_

_[Especially the bit where you shrieked like a girl…]_

Ryou frowned. _[[We were about six inches away from death by drowning.]]_

_[It was still funny.]_

_[[Humph.]]_

Marik tied his bike up and pulled a key out of the pocket of his tight jeans. He slotted the key into the front door of his family's loaned house, and they stepped inside. Ryou looked around curiously. He'd never been in Marik's house before.

The walls were papered in burning red and cool orange, with matching carpets and furniture. Everything was patterned in gold and red, including several Egyptian ornaments and a small statue of the goddess Bastet.

Marik nudged him. "They're in the lounge upstairs."

Ryou nodded and climbed the staircase. For a person who likes light blue and silver, this was slightly overwhelming.

When he walked through the gold-painted door to the lounge, he noticed Ishizu calmly sitting on the gold-patterned couch, talking to an old man in magenta robes with a really long beard. Odion stood in the corner, casting his imposing presence over the room.

"Um…"

The old man looked round. "Ah. Ryou. Please, pull up a cushion."

Ryou and Marik walked into the room. Marik pushed

Ryou out of the way to get the only free armchair, and Ryou had to make do with the floor.

Ishizu smiled at Ryou. "Dumbledore-sensei has explained to Odion and me about the school and the world of magic in general."

Ryou was slightly confused. "Um… Yeah. Who are you?"

It was Dumbledore's turn to be confused. "We met in the city, Ryou. I turned your knife into a chicken."

_[[Wait, wait. You met this guy?]]_

_[Yup.]_

_[[And you pulled a knife on him?]]_

_[Yup.]_

_[[… And you didn't tell me?]]_

_[Yup.]_

_[[Why?]]_

_[I thought it would be fun to watch you squirm.]_

_[[Great.]] _

Marik prodded Ryou, making him snap out of his mental conversation. "Oh! Sorry, Dumbledore-sensei. I have an odd memory – I suffer from spontaneous outbreaks of amnesia."

Marik grinned. "Yeah. We always need to remind him where he is."

Ishizu glared at her brother. Marik wisely shut up.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, to fill the odd silence that followed. "I think I'll come to the reason I came here – All of you are in danger."

Marik rolled his eyes. "Tell me something I don't know."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "In the wizarding world, there are several Dark wizards who would benefit from getting their hands on your Millennium Items."

Ryou was surprised "You know about the Items?"

"Yes. I also know what powers they have. Unfortunately for you, someone else does too – the darkest wizard of all time, a man that calls himself Lord Voldemort."

"Who?" Marik leaned forward, interested.

Dumbledore spent the next ten minutes outlining Lord Voldemorts history, ending thirteen years ago when Harry Potter vanquished him.

"But if he's gone, what danger does he present?"

"Quite a large danger. You see, Voldemort is not dead. He's resting, biding his time. He exists currently in a spirit form –" This caught Bakura's attention – "But I have evidence that suggests that he is planning to return, and then he will come after the Millennium Items – more specifically, the Rod and the Ring."

Bakura swiftly took over. "Why the Rod and the Ring? Why not the Puzzle, or the Key, or any other?"

Dumbledore looked searchingly at Bakuras face. "Ah. I wondered when you would be joining us."

Bakura did a double-take. "You know about me?"

"I know a lot of things."

"That's not helpful."

"I know."

Silence. Bakura fiddled with the Ring for a few minutes, and then said "You haven't answered my question."

"Why do you think he wants them?"

Marik interceded. "Mind control, right? And the power to seal away souls. Not to mention the power of every Item – to Summon creatures from the Shadow Realm."

"That's right. Voldemort will attempt to use them to further his iron grip over the Death Eaters"

Marik nodded. Dumbledore had told them all about Voldemorts group of followers.

Bakura narrowed his eyes. "So. You believe we'll be safe at this school of yours?"

"Yes. Hogwarts is the only place where I can assure your safety."

Bakura crossed his arms and huffed. "I guess we have no choice, then."

Dumbledore looked pleased. "Well, then. I know you have a week left of school here before the summer holidays – I'll be with you in a week to take you to the place where you will be able to buy your school things."

He stood up to leave, and Ishizu stood to show him out.

Silence followed their exit. Bakura stood too. "Well. That was certainly illuminating, but I can think of better ways to spend my Saturday."

He swept out of the room, his coat billowing out behind him.

Marik jumped up to follow him, but Odion crossed the room and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Leave him."

"But…"

"He needs to think. Leave him."

Marik flopped back down onto the armchair.

* * *

**Well. Now, they all know Dumbledore, ect ect... Next, introducing Kerah, and a suspicious RPG that shares a title with this fanfic...**

**Remember to refer to my guide and review, review, review!**


	5. A beginning and an end

Yes, I know I said I'd introduce Kerah this chapter, but too much had to be said first.

Um... I think Bakura went a little OOC at the end. If anyone could advise me on how better that scene could be played out, please say in a PM or a review.

So...

_Yu-Gi-Oh and Harry Potter come together to bring you..._

**_Arc of Solitude_**

_Chapter Five: A beginning and an end - to every story._

* * *

The next week flashed by quickly for Ryou. Perhaps this was because his resident annoying spirit was in such high spirits. In any case, it didn't seem like it had been a week when Ryou walked out of the school gates on Friday.

That day had been particularly bad. It was the traditional no-lessons muck-up day, where everyone in the top two grades just made fools of themselves for nobody's amusement.

He had been egged multiple times, water-bombed, and lost about twenty duels courtesy of Yugi and pals. They had set up a duelling ring in the middle of the soccer field, daring anyone to challenge the King of Games and two others who had managed to make it to the Battle City finals.

Even Marik had sauntered in, Duel Disk at the ready. He had come in second place in Battle City, after all, and said that he wanted some recognition too.

_[Great,]_ Bakura had said. _[Now all we need is for Kaiba and Ishizu to arrive and we can have a party.]_

Ryou had neglected to comment.

The highlight of the day had been his Ancient History teacher stopping him in the corridor and expressing his delight for Ryou's assignment. He had pressed upon Ryou a translated copy of the Egyptian _Book of the Dead_, as a 'prize' for gaining the highest grade. Bakura had been delighted and holed himself away in a corner for the second half of the day, scanning the text. Ryou didn't know what he had been looking for, but he had evidently not found it.

Then, he had been ambushed by Joey and water-bombed.

He hadn't been happy.

_[It was his fault,] _Bakura grumbled, snapping Ryou out of his reverie. _[He knew better than to disturb me.]_

_[[He thought it was me. An easy mistake to make, I'm sure. After all, only the Pharaoh and Marik can really tell us apart]]_

_[Still…] _Bakura fell silent.

Ryou walked down the High Street, humming to himself. He couldn't wait for the weekend; His cousin, Kerah, had invited him to stay at her home in England for the entire holidays.

"Hey, Ryou!"

Marik ran through the usual crowd on the street, catching up with Ryou and walking at his side. "Tough day, huh?"

Ryou nodded.

"OF course, none of those amateurs were any match for my Slime deck…"

Ryou nodded again.

"It's a shame Bakura wouldn't duel, really. I bet he'd have destroyed all the opposition."

"M-hm."

Marik fell silent as he realised Ryou wasn't really listening. "What's up?"

"Professor Dumbledore is due this weekend, remember? I'm worried it'll clash with my plane…"

"Your plane..? You're leaving?"

"Just for the holidays." Ryou grinned. "My cousin invited me to stay with her in England."

"Oh... Right. That's… good. Yeah."

Ryou wasn't listening. He smiled at the memory of his cousin, when she had stayed with him for a month. Of course, it hadn't been all just plain sailing… There had been that business with the Millennium Amulet, and Kisara… [1]

He shook his head. Kisara was gone, right? Yeah.

"Hey, Marik."

"Hmm?" Marik had lapsed into silence, fiddling with one of his gold bangles.

"Want to come over later? Maybe play a game or something?"

Marik looked at Ryou suspiciously. He knew that Bakura was very good at emulating his host, and sometimes he couldn't tell them apart… "What kind of game?"

Ryou shook his head. "Oh, nothing like that. I was thinking, I would introduce you to Monster World, or Dungeons and Dragons."

Marik let out his breath. "Uh… sure. Monster World sounds fun."

"Great! I'll go set it up. Give me a couple of hours, alright?"

Marik nodded. _{Sometimes he's just like a little kid… Bakura, what have you done to him?}_

_Two hours later. Bakura residence._

Marik rang the bell of Ryou's apartment. The door was opened by Bakura.

"Marik. Come on in…"

Marik began to have second thoughts. _{Yugi told me what Bakura tried to do to him…}_

Bakura obviously saw this doubt in Mariks face. He looked at him, his deep brown eyes piercing Mariks violet ones.

"The door is there if you want to leave."

Marik shook his head. "Um… I'm fine. Lead the way…"

Bakura grinned wolfishly and led Marik into 'his' game room. Dominating the room was a large table, with a massive game board set up on top. "This is my custom battle board. I used to use it just for my 'Zork' campaign, but since an irritating Pharaoh destroyed the key figure, it's now just a general-purpose board." Bakura slid into a seat at the head of the table, next to a castle diorama. He flipped open a laptop and entered in some data.

He looked up to see Marik still standing there. "What are you waiting for?"

Marik sat, still staring at the game board.

Bakura grinned. "What, you think I'll pull a 'Yugi' on you? Give me a break. It takes too much energy to animate the figures now that all my carefully hoarded souls have been returned. Unfortunately, that leaves me without a boss monster, either. When I play with my Host, it doesn't really matter, but I'll have to present a challenge for two of you…"

He pulled out a sheet of paper from a drawer underneath the table. "This is your 'character' sheet. Fill it out."

Marik took the sheet and scanned it. Picking up a pencil left lying there from, presumably, a previous game, he began to fill in the sheet.

_{Hmm.} _"What's a 'Diabolist'?"

"Dark Mage." Bakura was absorbed in his typing, and didn't look up.

Marik scribbled down 'Elf Diabolist' in his scrawling handwriting, and looked up at Bakura. "Um…"

"What now?"

"It says to roll for my scores and such, but you haven't provided me with a dice…"

Bakura rolled his eyes. He reached into the drawer and pulled out a dice, tossing it over to Marik, who dropped it.

"Careful with that."

Five minutes later, Marik handed the sheet back to Bakura with his character data inscribed on it. Bakura, for his part, had spent that time designing the figurine that Marik would use.

"Hey," Marik grinned. "It looks like me!"

"I pride myself on my figurines." Bakura pulled out another figurine from the drawer; a perfect copy of Ryou, wearing the outfit of a White Wizard. "My host is demanding to play, too," he said in response to Marik's raised eyebrow.

((AN: I'm not going to bore you with the details of their game. If you PM me, or leave a review, I'll send it to you, but this update is already overdue.))

Marik rolled the dice for the last time. _Come on…_

The two ten-sided dice clacked together and rolled onto the table. Both Marik and Bakura craned to see the numbers on the dice…

01.

Bakura winced. "Diabolist Marik casts Final Dark Attack, which wipes out the troll lord. Game over."

Marik grinned. "Yes! We win!"

He picked up his Diabolist figurine and looked at it. "Can I keep this?"

"No."

Marik looked quizzically at Ryou – Bakura and Ryou had swapped back. "Why not?"

"I prefer to keep the personalised figures I make."

Marik nodded. That made sense – if Ryou was the only person who played the game, he would keep the figures. "I see."

"Well, I must say, that was an excellent game."

Both Marik and Ryou whirled around. Behind them stood Professor Dumbledore.

Bakura immediately took over, fuming. "What the hell are you doing in my apartment?"

Dumbledore smiled. His eyes twinkled behind their half-moon spectacles. "I'm here to take you both to London."

Ryou frowned. "London?"

"Yes."

Ryou's face broke out into a grin. "Great! My cousin is expecting me!"

Marik's face fell. He put down the figurine and stood up sadly.

Dumbledore noticed this. "Mr. Ishtar, don't worry. I've made arrangements for you to stay with your friend's cousin."

"Really?" Marik grinned. "You mean…"

"You get to stay with me? Great!" Ryou smiled at his friend. "You can meet Kerah! She'd love to meet you; every time Bakura mentioned you, she got really curious, and then he changed the subject…"

"Am I really that bad?"

Bakura took over. "Yes. You are."

Marik rolled his eyes. "Geez. Thanks."

Bakura just grinned. Like usual, it didn't reach his eyes, which were cold, cruel and calculating.

Dumbledore looked from one to the other through this exchange. "Well… Now that we've settled things, let's be off. I believe the plane leaves at two-forty…"

Ryou – he'd switched back - looked quizzically at Dumbledore. "Um… Marik doesn't have a ticket…"

"Nonsense. I took the liberty of acquiring two tickets, one for me and one for Mr. Ishtar. Now. I think you ought to pack, hmm?" Dumbledore looked round the cluttered game room, eyebrows raised. "Mr. Ishtar and I will, I think, head to his house to explain things to his family. Two-thirty, please, at Domino Airport."

"Yes, sir." Ryou turned away to grab a bag, and heard a small _crack_ as Dumbledore disappeared.

_(You're scared.)_

_((What?))_

_(You're agreeing with Dumbledore because you're scared that Voldemort will come after you.)_

_((Well, yes… If he's after the Rod and the Ring, then I have a cause to be scared.))_

_(No you don't.)_

_((What?))_

_(I'll… Protect you.)_

Ryou was flabbergasted. _((What?))_

_(Pardon?)_

_((What was that?))_

_(I didn't say anything.)_

Ryou gave up. When his 'guest' was being stubborn, nothing in any world could get anything out of him.

* * *

Bakura stalked into the airport, a massive bag slung over his shoulder. Marik noticed him and waved him over.

"Ryou, we're over here!"

Bakura huffed. How many times had he told his 'friend' not to call him by his hosts name… It just increased his already black mood. He slung his bag on the ground and kicked it savagely.

Marik raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"I had to physically stop Mr. game-obsessed freak from bringing my entire battle board plus every monster figure he's ever owned, ever. As it is, he managed to sneak in all his personalised figures and a two-piece game board."

Marik grinned. "That bad, huh?"

Bakura just grunted.

Odion and Ishizu stood beside Marik. Ishizu nodded to Bakura, the Millennium Necklace glinting at her neck. He had to resist the temptation not to lash out and grab it.

Ishizu nodded to him. "Good afternoon, Tomb Robber."

Bakura grunted again.

Odion put his hand on Bakura's arm, and was shrugged off. "Bakura. I wish to speak to you."

Bakura looked up at Odion, focusing on the hieroglyphic tattoo on his face. "What is it now?"

Odion turned and walked a few meters away. Bakura followed.

"Bakura. You know that I'm tasked with making sure that Battle City doesn't happen again."

"And?"

"Professor Dumbledore has refused me entry to his school. So. You, Tomb robber – you need to take my place."

"What?!" Bakura stepped back from Odion and turned away. "No. I refuse. One dealing with Dark Marik is good enough for me, thank you."

Odion raised an eyebrow. "But, if you leave him unchecked then his darker side will break out anyway."

Bakura turned back. "Good point. But I refuse – Refuse! – to play nanny to that hyperactive idiot."

Odion smiled – a rare sight – and said "You might want to try it sometime. It's quite refreshing."

"Humph."

"Ryou!"

Bakura turned, his eyes flashing. _(What now..?)_

Yugi, Joey, Tristan and Téa ran through the doors of the departure lounge. They stopped in front of Bakura, and Joey eyed him suspiciously.

Bakura frowned. "If you are just here to insult me, Wheeler, don't bother."

Yugi smiled nervously at him. "Um… Can we see Ryou?"

"No."

Téa looked quizzically at him. "Why not?"

"He is grounded."

"Grounded?" Joey frowned at him. "Whadd'ya mean grounded?"

"He is confined to his soul room."

"What?" Bakura sensed Yami had taken over, now. "Bakura, what've you been doing to him…"

Bakura sneered at him. "Nothing, your _majesty_. He's an annoying prick, so I confined him."

Marik looked from one to the other, sensing Yami tension. "Um… Guys…"

Yami looked at him. "What?"

Marik pointed. Professor Dumbledore had appeared behind the gang, and was straightening out his robes. He looked up. "Ah! Mr. Ishtar, and Bakura. I take it you are ready?"

Bakura turned his back on Yami, and looked at Odion. He inclined his head, and picked up the massive, heavy bag that Ryou had packed.

Then, he frowned. Something sharp dug into his side, poking out of the bag. He had a very suspicious feeling about what it was…

But, he neglected to comment.

He turned to the door. Going through it would take him to England – a whole new country to terrorize, and a world he'd never heard of - but it would leave behind the people he had grown accustomed to. Joey – The blonde mutt that he hated. Yugi – an innocent child who irritated him severely. The Nameless Pharaoh – His enemy and rival, the man he would hate for the rest of his extraordinarily long life.

It was going to be a long year.

As he prepared to leave the building, the deep voice of the Pharaoh spoke out behind him.

"Bakura… Stay safe. Both of you."

He looked back, and Tristan gave him a thumbs-up. His mouth twitched, in what could have been – and might become – a smile.

Then, the mask was back in place. He frowned.

"I'll be back, to check on… things. My host tells me that he will write regularly, and expects you to do the same. You have free reign of my collection, but if any of my miniatures has even a scratch on it I will kill you and feed you to Dark Marik."

He left the building. His host would call it 'chasing his destiny'. He just called it a waste of time.


	6. Journey

_Yu-Gi-Oh! and Harry Potter come together to bring you: _

**_Arc of Solitude_**

_Chapter Six: Journey _

* * *

The flight from Japan to England was mind-numbingly boring. An hour in, Marik fell asleep and Bakura found out very quickly why Ryou had never invited him to sleep over.

You see, Marik snored. Not tinny little 'zzz' snores, but massive great electric drill snores that reverberated around the small private first-class compartment.

Ryou, of course, had fallen asleep a while earlier. Well, there wasn't anything else to do when you're stuck in your soul room.

Bakura switched back and left him to it. Standing in spirit-form in front of them, he had to agree that is was kind of cute, Mariks head resting on Ryou's shoulder.

"Restless, Bakura?"

Bakura turned. Behind him was Dumbledore, sitting on one of the comfortable chairs like he had been since the beginning of the flight, his long fingers steepled, and his blue eyes scanning him.

Bakura was surprised, but he didn't show it. _"You can see me."_

Dumbledore smiled kindly. "Anyone with a wand can see ghosts and spirits."

Bakura raised an eyebrow. He pulled out his knife – a translucent copy, anyway – and began to twirl and flip it, catching it by the blade, then the handle, then letting it fall through his fingers, it blurring with speed so that Dumbledore could barely keep track of it. _"So, I'm a ghost now?"_

"A voice from the past – perhaps. A spirit, certainly… With the freedom of moving outside the host body."

"_Only to an extent. I can't go more than six meters from my host."_ Bakura began to pace around the compartment, still flipping his knife around his hand.

The door of the compartment opened, admitting a cheery flight attendant carrying four boxes.

Bakura vanished, out of habit.

"Excuse me, sir… Your in-flight meals and complimentary snacks."

Dumbledore stood up, taking the lightweight boxes from the attendant's hands. "Thank you." The attendant nodded, smiled and left.

Bakura mentally nudged his host. Ryou jolted awake, wide-eyed.

_[Food.]_

Dumbledore was already opening one of the boxes, which turned out to be a prawn curry. Ryou shook Marik awake. "Looks like grubs up, Marik."

Marik yawned and stretched, reaching out for one of the boxes, which contained a lasagne of some kind. He groaned. "I hate plane food…"

"I'll have it if you don't want it," Ryou said cheerfully, tucking into his soggy steak pie. "It's been ages since I've had airline food."

Marik raised an eyebrow at his friend. "You _like_ this crap?"

"What's wrong with that?"

Marik sighed, picking at his food. "I just hope your aunt's food is better than this."

Ryou smiled happily. "Oh, it is… She does all kinds of cuisine, but her speciality is roast dinners, every Sunday without fail, and she does these massive sausages that are just right, not burned or too tender, and don't get me started on the vegetables…"

"I think I may have to stay with you for Sunday dinner, then, Mr Bakura." Dumbledore had abandoned his curry and was sucking on a hard-boiled sweet that sent the smell of lemons around the compartment.

"Oh... Uh... Of course, Dumbledore-Sensei."

Marik suddenly thought of something. "Uh… What about the language? The only words I know of British are Please, Thank you, Hi and Step away from the exhibit."

"Kerah and I will teach you, no worries. English is my first language, anyway."

Marik grinned. "Great."

The rest of the plane journey was spent asleep, in the case of Ryou and Marik. Bakura paced round the compartment, occasionally shooting a question at the old professor who's piercing blue eyes followed his every step.

"Perhaps you should sleep, Bakura."

"_I don't sleep."_

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Why? Everyone must sleep."

"_I spent five thousand years asleep. When I woke up, I found I did not need sustenance or rest. As long as my host is rested and fed, I need nothing."_

Dumbledore lapsed into silence, still watching Bakura. Bakura began to feel uncomfortable, and retired to his soul room to puzzle… something out.

* * *

_[Shall we peek into the minds of the two boys? Shall we take a look at their dreams?]_

"_Where am I?"_

"_Where do you think you are?"_

_Ryou turned. Behind him stood the person who shadowed his life… He who shared his life and his appearance. He stood in a shadow, so that Ryou could not see his face._

"_I want to see you."_

_The man moved into the light cast by the open door. Ryou gasped, and stepped back._

_This Bakura was different. A long scar distorted his left cheek, and his grey eyes were filled with disdain as the taller man looked down at him._

_But his hair… Oh, his hair!_

_It was encrusted with the deep red of dried blood, to match the knife the man held in his outstretched hand. Ryou stumbled back, over the threshold of the door, and it began to swing shut…_

_But too late, too late…_

_Marik stood in a brick corridor that narrowed to a point on his left. He faced a door, painted the red of blood and edged with gold._

_He hesitated, and then pushed it open. It made no sound as it whispered over the stone floor…_

_He walked over the threshold of the door. _

_He stood in a familiar room… One he remembered from his days living underground in the Tomb Keepers complex. On one wall was a pattern of hieroglyphics, spelling out his name over and over; 'Marik, Marik, Marik, Marik…'_

_On the other wall was a series of pictures and hieroglyphs; Marik instantly knew it, for it was carved upon his back._

_In the center of the room was a long table, holding an empty sarcophagus with the lid slightly ajar. Marik shuddered. _

_He backed out of the room, returning to the corridor._

_**Bang**__._

_Marik stayed facing his door. He didn't want to turn round._

_**Bang.**_

_He turned. The other door was a slab of stone, locked, bolted and barred. But something was trying to escape._

_**Bang.**_

_Marik turned away, trying to find a way out. One end of the corridor was narrowed to a point, but the other was obscured by a bright light._

_**Crash.**_

_Marik began to run, towards the light. The corridor lengthened as he ran; He ran faster, but couldn't quite reach it…_

_The stone door exploded in a blast of dust. Marik looked behind him and saw a glimpse of blonde hair, glowing gold and black eyes…_

_Then, finally, he stepped into the light._

* * *

"Marik, Ryou. Wake up."

Ryou jerked awake, gasping heavily. He remembered the dream… The expression on his darker self's face as he advanced…

_[Bad dream?]_

Ryou didn't comment. He shook Marik awake, and jumped up as Marik overbalanced, waving his arms and crashing to the floor.

"I meant to do that," he said, getting up, red-faced.

Ryou grinned and helped his friend up.

Dumbledore stood, brushing his robes off and pulling out his wand, vacuuming crumbs off by moving the tip up and down over his robes. "The plane is landing. Please, gather your things."

Ten minutes later, the plane had landed and the outside door opened, letting in the bright afternoon sunlight. Ryou descended the flimsy metal stairs, smiling as he looked around Heathrow Airport. "Wow… It's changed since I was here last."

Marik huffed, not impressed. "It's only an airport. What's to change?"

Ryou shook his head and led the way towards Passport Control.

As they approached the building, Ryou paled. "Oh… Dear…"

"What?" Marik turned back, his heavy backpack weighing him down. "Have you forgotten anything?"

Ryou frantically patted himself down. "Ah… I'm sure I had it…" He turned out the pockets of his jeans, revealing his Duel Monsters deck, a few Yen coins but…

"No passport…"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "You can't have forgotten your passport… You had it with you, did you not?"

"Yes… I'm sure I had it in my shirt pocket!" Ryou was frantic now. _[[You haven't hidden it, to play some stupid joke on me, have you?]]_

_[No… Why would I do that?] _Ryou heard the smirk in his Yamis voice.

Marik burst out laughing. "You… You… Hahaha…"

Ryou sighed. "I might as well get back on the plane…"

"No, don't be silly, Ryou. Here…" Dumbledore began to walk sedately towards the passport control building, pulling out his wand as he did.

Ryou picked up his bag and followed, Marik tagging on behind. Dumbledore muttered a word to his wand as he passed the official, saying to him "Thank you. We'll go through now."

"Have a nice day…" the man said in a dazed voice.

Marik grinned as they walked into the main building of Terminal 4. "Wow… How did you do that?"

Dumbledore smiled kindly. "I just performed a simple Confundus Charm on the clerk."

"A Confundus Charm, huh…" Marik filed this information away for further use.

A loud squeal ripped the air, and Ryou managed to see a flash of white hair before he was hit with a large amount of force and the wind knocked out of him.

He gasped and looked down. Then, he grinned.

"Kerah…"

His cousin, Kerah, disentangled herself from him and stood back, smiling happily. "Ryou… You're here! You're actually here! The plane was late; we thought you'd never arrive!"

Ryou looked closer at his cousin. "You're… taller."

This, indeed, was true. Kerah, Ryou's albino cousin, had grown at least three inches in the four months that had passed since he had last seen her. Her dress sense hadn't changed, though… She was dressed in almost exactly the same outfit he was wearing, minus the dark blue stripes on the white polo shirt.

And then Kerah looked past Ryou, and saw Marik. She ran an eye over him, taking in his tan, his blonde, shoulder-length hair and his violet eyes, along with his tan jeans and purple bomber jacket.

"And who's he?"

Marik cleared his throat. "Uh… Hello, Kerah-san."

Ryou smiled. "This is Marik."

Kerah raised an eyebrow. "_The_ Marik?"

Ryou chuckled. "Yes, _the_ Marik. However, he can't speak English, so you need to speak to him in Japanese until he bothers to learn."

Kerah smiled. "Well, we'll have to rectify _that_ situation, hmm, Marik?"

Marik was extremely relieved. "Yeah… It sucks not being able to speak your language. I'm glad we share a common one."

As Ryou, Kerah and Marik exchanged their niceties, Dumbledore walked past them. He had seen Izabelle – Ryou's aunt.

"Good afternoon, Izabelle. I trust you are well?"

Izabelle smiled and brushed back a black bang from her face. "Quite well, Albus. Yourself?"

"As ever." Dumbledore smiled. "Your daughter is doing well, I see. I'm glad you accepted my invitation at last to bring her to Hogwarts."

"Well, Albus, after the sheer weight of post you sent me about the matter I feel I had to relent. Besides, I can't make the choice for her – even though I've forsaken Magic for Technology, I feel Kerah needs the same chance I had."

Kerah pulled Ryou over to her mother, with Marik tagging along behind. Izabelle smiled sadly at her nephew, and pulled him into a warm hug. "Ryou… It's been such a long time…"

Ryou returned the embrace. "Izabelle-Oba… I'm glad you invited me. Oh…" He pulled away, and gestured to Marik. "This is Marik. Professor Dumbledore said that you'd let him stay?"

"Of course." But now Izabelle was having second thoughts. The Egyptian boy was far from the boy she had imagined him to be.

Marik grinned sheepishly. "Hello, Izabelle-sama."

Ryou smiled. "That's the extent of his English, I'm afraid. Kerah and I are going to try and teach him, but it'll take a while, I think."

Izabelle smiled at Marik. "Well, I think Ryou will have to be your translator, then, Marik."

Dumbledore stood slightly apart from the group, waiting patiently. When they all fell silent, he cleared his throat, gaining their attention. "Well, I'm afraid I must leave. Duty calls… But I will pop in every so often."

He turned on the spot, and disappeared with a _crack_.

Izabelle smiled. "That man can't stay still… Well, kids. Marik, Ryou, have you got your baggage? Good. Into the car, then…"

She shepherded them out of the terminal into a busy car park. Her car, a Renault Scenic, sat waiting, and they all piled in. Kerah grinned at her cousin. "You're going to love our house, we fitted out the spare room for you, and Marik's going to sleep in with you too, we set up a camp bed…"

Ryou nodded; resting his head on the window and watching buildings, cars and other city luxuries race past.

They eventually came out of the city, into the less smoggy countryside home to several small towns.

"We live in Surrey. It's a lovely little town, and so close to London, so it's ideal for shopping and such…"

Quiet pervaded the car after that. Marik looked out of the other window disapprovingly. "Why does everything have to be so... _green_?"

Kerah grinned. "Why does Egypt have to be so sandy? It's just our climate, is all. You'll get used to it. Right, Ryou?"

Ryou wasn't listening. _[[No, you can't just Shadow-Travel there.]]_

_[Why not? It'll be faster, and more convenient than this bucket of bolts.]_

_[[And what do you think Aunt Izabelle would say if she turned round and I was gone? She'd have a panic attack, or something!]]_

_[Well, she'd just have to cope with it.]_

_[[No! No shadow-travelling! Anyway, you'll need to keep a low profile while we're in England. What would people say if they found out about you?]]_

_[Not much, judging by the Professors reaction.]_

_[[I get the feeling that Professor Dumbledore isn't exactly a normal person. The only people who know about you here are me, Kerah, Marik and Professor Dumbledore. Please, keep it that way…]]_

_[Humph.]_

"Well, we're here, kids!"

The car pulled into a uniform suburb. Ryou opened the door and promptly fell out the car; it had been over an hours drive, and his legs had fallen asleep. Bakura snickered.

Ryou stood up and grabbed his extremely heavy bag out the car. Marik grabbed a smaller, compact suitcase and turned to face the house.

"Number Seven, Privet Drive. Home sweet home, huh, partner?"

"I guess so."

A curtain twitched in the upper window of the opposite house, Number Four.

_[We're being watched.]_

_[[I know.]]_

Ryou lugged his bag up the front steps as his aunt unlocked and opened the door. "Welcome to your home, for the next month and a half, that is." She crossed the spacious living room and entered the kitchen. "I'll do a cup of tea. Kerah, help Ryou and Marik unpack, will you?"

"Yes, mom." Kerah helped Ryou heave his bag upstairs to the spare room, which was coloured blue and silver. A camp bed was set up next to the comfortable single bed, and the mirrored wardrobe reflected the sunlight from the open window. Bakura appeared in his spirit form and chucked himself onto the bed, arms behind his head, grinning up at the white ceiling.

"_I'm going to enjoy this summer very much... Heh heh."_

Ryou sighed and began to unpack, his back turned to the spirit on the bed. He drew out his clothes first, three full sets of his usual outfit, along with, on the bottom, a large silver case.

He opened the case to reveal twelve 20x20 Monster World game tiles, and a large box containing about twenty figures; that is, four personalised figures, six NPC figures and ten monster figures.

Bakura slung himself off the bed, and Ryou tensed.

"_I told you to bring two tiles and four figures."_

_[[Oh… Uh… did you? I must have misheard…]]_

"_Don't play the fool with me, Host. Thanks to you I had to suffer walking to the airport with an extremely heavy bag, suffering a sore back in the process."_

_[[Um… Yeah… Well… I can hardly leave my favourites behind, right? I mean, well…]] _He stopped under Bakura's death glare.

"_Next time you disobey a direct order I'll make you symmetrical."_

Ryou clutched at his upper right arm, which sported a large scar from the events of last year. _[[You wouldn't…]]_

"_Try me."_

This appeared to be all Bakura would say on the matter, as he stalked to the window and leaned on the frame, watching the opposite house. _[I can sense something deep emanating from that house…]_

He turned away from the window. _"Hurry up with that unpacking, Host. I want to get a closer look in that house." _

A/N: I wasn't sure of the Japanese suffix for 'Aunt' - can somebody clarify?

Read! Review! Please!!


	7. Serpent Dreams

_Yu-Gi-Oh and Harry Potter come together to bring you..._

**_Arc of Solitude_**

_Chapter Seven: Serpent Dreams_

* * *

Ryou lay in bed, awake. Mariks snores reverberated around the room and nothing Ryou could do – even pulling both his pillows and half his duvet over his head – could mask the sound.

So he'd given up and now just lay there, staring at the ceiling. A spider was spinning a web in the corner of the room. Ryou watched it; it was intriguing how a simple creature such as a spider could create patterns that complex.

The Millennium Ring lay on the bedside table where he'd put it the night before. He picked it up and looked at it, running his hands over the central triangle and the Eye of Wdjat in the centre. He fiddled with one of the prongs of the Ring, turning it over in his hand.

It was interesting how the Ring, and the other Millennium Items, were supposedly made of pure gold, but they were so light… Surely gold was supposed to be heavier? If so, what was this seemingly innocent pendant made of?

"_Blood and bone, Spirit and gold."_

Ryou jumped. Bakura had shimmered into view, again looking out the window. It was pitch-black outside, but Bakura had his eyes trained on the house opposite.

"What?"

"_You wondered what made the Millennium Items. The blood and bone and spirit of ninety-nine innocents, mixed with liquid gold enchanted with Shadow Magic."_

Ryou gasped. "You mean… I'm wearing _people_!?"

"_Put bluntly, yes. Your treasured pendant was made by rounding up ninety-nine people, herding them into a forge and executing them by pushing them into a cauldron of molten gold. This ensured that the souls of the innocents were trapped within the gold. They were then –"_

"Please, don't…"

"_Why not? I thought you _wanted _to know about my past."_

"_You _were one of those people?"

Bakura fell silent. When he next spoke, there was a slight hint of sorrow in his voice. _"No. No, I… I wasn't."_

Ryou looked sadly at the translucent form of his darker half.

But then Bakura turned round, and the coldness and bitterness was back in his eyes. _"I need to use you."_

"What?"

"_The house across the road – some strange power emanates from it. I want to find out what it is."_

Ryou shook his head. "And what if someone catches you? What if said 'strange power' confronts you? What if-"

"_Be silent. You have no choice." _Bakura vanished, and the Millennium Ring shone brightly as Bakura roughly shoved Ryou aside and took control. _[Now, stay silent.]_

Bakura looked down at himself. _[I should be grateful that you threw away those bunny pyjamas.] _He crossed the room and grabbed his black coat from where it hung on the back of the door. Unfortunately, he caught his foot on the edge of Marik's bed.

"Wha... No! No! Keep away from me!" Marik jerked awake, flinging off his duvet and gasping for breath.

"Fool. It's me." Bakura pulled on the coat and looped the rope that held the Ring round his neck.

"Where are you going?"

"Out." Bakura slid open the window and looked out. A two-storey drop; no problem.

"Wait!" But Marik was too late; Bakura had dropped out of the window and landed on the damp grass of the carefully mowed front garden.

Marik kicked himself out of bed and rushed to the window. "Bakura!"

"Keep it down!" Bakura scowled up at Marik. He'd landed in a crouch, like a cat, and now stood up, dusting off his shimmering silver pyjamas and black coat.

Marik rolled his eyes and pulled his head back inside the window. He knew too well than to argue.

But on the other side of the house, the curtain of another bedroom twitched…

_[[You know, I still think this is a bad idea.]]_

_[Whatever do you mean?]_

_[[Oh, well… You know… Breaking into somebody else's house to check out an odd power that may or may not be malevolent, relying on a Millennium Item that has a history of failing you…]]_

_[The Millennium Ring has never failed me.]_

Bakura put his hand on the solid wooden door of Number Four, Privet Drive._ [Heh. Wood can't keep me out.] _The Millennium Ring briefly glowed, and Bakura passed through the door like a ghost. In fact, he had briefly entered the Shadow Realm, 'Shadow-travelling' through the door. He looked around; noting the room he was in was a reflection, structurally, of the house that his host was now staying in.

"Alright, Ring. Work your magic. Show me the source." Bakura picked the Ring off his chest and activated its power. The prongs briefly waved around, and then pointed upstairs and to the left.

Bakura placed a hand on the banister, softly creeping up the stairs. Ryou, looking through his eyes, marvelled at the way he made no sound.

Bakura stood on the landing, on the second floor. There were three doors here; behind one door came the sound of snoring, and Bakura grimaced. _[I think I've found someone who's worse than Marik.]_

The second door led to a double bedroom; Bakura passed through the door and looked down at two people; one tall and ruddy and one small and horsey. The Millennium Ring pointed back through the door, so Bakura followed it.

The third bedroom, then.

This room was cluttered with random stuff. Bakura stepped over a stack of books and an old wooden trunk, until he looked down upon a boy.

Fourteen years old, perhaps; Messy jet-black hair flopped over a forehead that bore a long lightning-shaped scar.

Bakura put a hand to his cheek; He missed his own scar – the one that reminded him of the dangers of recklessness and folly.

The boy stirred; Bakura backed into a shadow that hid him from view. Not for the first time he curse his white hair; Apart from being impractical, it made it hard to blend in without using the Ring. And his host wouldn't let him dye it either.

_[So… The boy with the lightning scar is the source of this strange power. I wonder… Can I take it from him?]_

_[[Maybe it's just the same power that the new magic feels like.]]_

_[No. This is different. This is ancient… and Dark.]_

_[[Well, please… You said you'd keep a low profile… Please just leave him alone…]]_

Bakura gritted his teeth in frustration._ [Why? Why should I listen to you?]_

_[[Because… Uh…]]_

_[Exactly.] _Bakura moved forward once the boy had settled again. _[It seems the lightning scar is the source of this power.] _He moved his hand until it hovered slightly above the boy's forehead, and concentrated, attempting to use the Ring to break into the boys mind. _[Grah. I should have brought the Millennium Rod – it specialises in this.]_

_Two figures stood in a short corridor. Ryou looked around him. "This is interesting… I've never been in anyone else's mind before..."_

"_Stay here." Bakura paced down the short corridor, mapping the place. "Ah… It seems that this boy has also got a split mind… But I sensed no other Millennium Items in his room or, even, his house. How…"_

_Ryou followed him. Much to his irritation. "Wow… Does everyone have two doors?"_

"_No," he said curtly. "This is odd…" He stepped up to a door patterned in red and gold. His hand closed upon the doorknob and turned, admitting him to a large room…_

_The most striking feature of the room was the walls. They were draped in banners of red and gold, and one symbol – a golden lion, rampant – decorated everything._

_On one wall hung three picture frames. One held a photo of a brown-haired girl, another held a ginger boy and the third was blank._

_((A/N: Warning! HP Spoiler alert from here on!))_

_Outside in the corridor, Ryou was looking at the other door. It was decorated with carved snakes, and the emeralds set in their eyes stared at him, making him feel uncomfortable._

_He looked over his shoulder, but Bakura was still examining the other room. He reached out a hand to push open the door…_

_It was pitch-black inside. The small triangle of light that the doorway let in fell on a floor that dipped suddenly to form a pit._

_He stepped forward, into the darkness, and the door began to swing shut. He turned to dash out, but the door shut with a _click_._

_He was locked in – in a pitch-black room that could be full of all sorts of evil creatures. Images rose up in his mind – The Earl of Demise, the Zombie Master – He began to regret having a Zombie/Fiend deck._

_Two points of red light appeared, straight in front of him. He stepped back, slowly._

_A rustle. Something dragging itself over a stone floor._

_A hiss – of annoyance, perhaps?_

_He backed up further, his back hitting the door. He turned to the door, hitting a fist against it. It wouldn't budge._

_[[Bakura… Help…]]_

_No reply. _

_[[HELP ME!!]]_

_The… whatever it was… had reached him, now. He could feel it touching him, and its dry body began to wind up his legs, holding him still._

"_Yessss… You will do, I think…"_

_Ryou began to hyperventilate. Who could blame him? He started thrashing around, attempting to get the _thing_ off him, yelling out into the echoing room, and the creature dragged him back, away from the door, away from freedom…_

Crash.

_The door burst open. Bakura stood there, silhouetted in the doorway. Ryou looked down at the creature that had hold of him…_

_It was a snake. A giant, black snake, with red eyes that glared hungrily at him. He thrashed more; the snake was squeezing him, constricting him, so that he couldn't breathe…_

_And then it recoiled from him. Bakura had grabbed hold of the head and wrestled it away from him, his hands around its neck, and he was glaring at it, straight into its eyes, and it began to squirm, attempting to get away from him…_

_Bakura pushed the snake away from him, scowling. He grabbed hold of Ryou's hair, dragging him to his feet._

" _Get out."_

_Ryou fled from the room._

Bakura opened his eyes. The boy had slept through all this, and was breathing heavily.

Bakura stepped back into a deep shadow and entered the Shadow Realm, Travelling back to the room he and Marik shared.

_[Don't you EVER do that again! You don't know what he might have had in his mind… And yet you just blundered into that room. That snake would have killed you if I hadn't intervened, and you should be glad that I did!]_

_[[I'm sorry…]] _Ryou was in shock.

_[Sorry? SORRY? Sorry isn't good enough. I TOLD you to stay there. Why you came in with me is anyone's guess, but you did, and I might not be there next time! You understand?]_

Ryou flinched away from Bakura's mental shout. _[[Yes…]]_

_[Good. Don't EVER do that again.]_

Bakura withdrew to the Ring. Ryou sat on his bed and drew his knees up to his chin, shivering with a cold that nothing could heat.

* * *

That was extremely hard to write. I hope y'alls enjoyed it... Next chappie, Diagon Alley! ^^

Read, Review! But no flaming, please!

Also... Litzana is now on DeviantArt! Check my profile for a pic of Kerah I recently finished. Review that one, too, please!

Also also... This has nothing to do with this story, but. Is there anywhere I can put a Dragon Riders story that is in no way related to Eragon or anything else?


	8. The Vault of Souls

Yu-Gi-Oh! and Harry Potter combine to bring you:

**_Arc of Solitude_**

_Chapter Eight; the Vault of Souls_

* * *

_Bright light. Too bright…_

_A warm wind, blowing through the chamber he was in. The light abruptly cut off, and brought with it a sound; a rustle. One other was within his chamber._

_He opened his eyes; Bright red optics surveyed the stone chamber. He saw nothing, but that was as usual… The chamber was always dark._

_He put out his tongue, tasting the air. A boy… He unfolded his coils from the pit he slept in, and slithered over the rough floor. He hissed – a warning hiss, to the boy stood directly in front of him. The boy didn't move, so he moved in… Slowly wrapping himself around the boy, tasting the air with his tongue. _

"_Yessss… You will do, I think…" Perhaps this boy would do, he had been searching for a new host; the current one was unaware of him, and he was not strong enough to take him over._

_But this boy… Yes, this boy was weak-willed, and his mind was easy to access…_

_The boy himself began to squirm, breathing heavily, panicking. Well, that was fine… He began to drag the boy back into his pit._

Crash.

_He blinked at the sudden light. Another stood in the doorway; a perfect copy of the boy wrapped in his coils, the boy who could now see him, and panicked more…_

_But the boy panicking was a good thing. With a hiss, he sank his fangs in the boys back. The adrenaline in the boys system would mean he would not notice the pain until later… A lot later, and by then it would be too late._

_The mirror-copy of the boy ran forward, grabbed him by the head, and wrenched his fangs out the boys back. He hissed; this new one was strong, and as he tried to escape his grip he could feel something passing between them; his power was being drained by the white-haired man._

_Then, he was pushed away. The man picked up his weaker counterpart and they left the room._

Harry woke up. His scar itched; Not the pain that he felt when Voldemort was near, but close to it.

He pulled himself out of bed. What should he do…? That dream had been so vivid, and then his scar…

_Write to Sirius._

He sat down at his desk, next to Hedwig's empty cage. Grabbing a quill and a piece of parchment, he began to write…

And who _was_ that white-haired boy…

* * *

"And where did you go last night, Bakura?"

The three teens were sitting around the kitchen table. Aunt Iza was busying herself with something upstairs, so they were safe to talk to and about a certain evil Yami. Kerah was using Japanese, because of Mariks language issues.

Bakura frowned. "I have no idea what you're talking about. My host was asleep all last night."

Kerah scowled. "Don't bother, Bakura. I saw you jumping out the window yesterday. Where, exactly, did you go?"

Marik nudged him. "Yes, Bakura. I'm quite curious too."

Bakura scowled. "Out. I went out. To… Scout the area. Yes."

Kerah didn't believe him, but she decided not to press the matter. Both she and Marik knew how volatile Bakura was when he was in a bad mood. The three of them were waiting for Aunt Iza, who had told them to prepare for the trip into London to buy their school things.

Aunt Iza wandered back into the kitchen, looking slightly confused. "Kerah, do you know where I put my chest?"

"Chest?"

"You know, the one I told you never to touch under any circumstances."

"Oh, that one!" Kerah looked slightly guilty. "Um… Under your bed, wasn't it? With the old baby clothes you never threw away."

"Oh, yes! I remember now!"

Aunt Iza left the kitchen and the trio heard the creaky stair creak as she went back upstairs.

"What was that all about?"  Marik raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing… Mum is always losing things. She'd lose her own head if it isn't attached."

"That can be arranged." Bakura lazily stared out the kitchen window, twirling a knife that Kerah swore wasn't in his hand a second ago.

Kerah was about to launch a verbally abusive attack on Bakura – she still blamed him for the events that had taken place when she had visited Japan briefly – until a bang was heard from upstairs and she looked up, slightly worried.

Marik scowled. "Put that away!"

Bakura stashed the knife in a hidden shirt pocket, frowning at Marik. The two glared at each other, until Aunt Iza came trooping down the stairs again, a bag of glittering powder in her hand. "Here it is. Floo Powder!"

"What's Floo Powder?"

Ryou – Yami and Hikari had swapped back – translated for Marik, who looked as clueless as both the English teens.

"Uh… Floo Powder?" Ryou looked at Kerah, who shrugged.

"Yes… You don't think I was going to _drive_ you to Diagon Alley? No… It'd take far too long. We're going to use Floo Powder." She shook the bag, frowning. "Only I hope it's still fresh… I bought it a while ago."

"And what does Floo Powder do?" Marik raised an eyebrow at the little bag of powder. Ryou translated for him.

"It… Oh, it would be better if I showed you, hmm? Gather round, now." Aunt Iza went into the living room and the trio followed. Ryou still looked a bit confused.

Aunt Iza flicked back her raven hair and lit the wood fire with a match. Standing back, she took a pinch of the powder and threw it into the flames.

Marik and Kerah jumped back. The flames had roared, growing to twice their size and blurring to a pleasant emerald green. Ryou could sense Bakura's focus on this new magic. Probably he was wondering how to get this 'Floo Powder'.

"Travel by fireplaces, you see? I'm just glad I kept my fire connected… There you go. Just step into the flames and shout 'Diagon Alley' and it'll whisk you straight there." She turned to Marik and Kerah. "Now, you three, when you emerge you'll be in a pub. Just hurry out the back door and wait until all four of us are there. Okay?"

The trio nodded.

"Well then. Ryou, why don't you go first?"

"Uh… Me?" Ryou stepped back a little from the flames.

_[Chicken, Host?]_

_[[Um…]]_

_[Just go in. Trust her. She's your aunt, for Ra's sake!]_

_[[But…]] _Ryou stared into the fire, mesmerized by the flickering emerald flames.

_[Just MOVE!]_

Pushed onwards by Bakura's mental shout, Ryou stepped into the flames. They didn't burn him as he had expected; instead, they were pleasantly warm and licked against his skin.

"Diagon Alley," he said, inhaling a mouthful of ash in the process. He began to cough, and as he did, the fireplace lifted away… He was spinning inside the emerald flames… He kept his eyes shut, not wanting to see whatever was happening…

Thud.

He landed in a fireplace that led out into a dingy shop. Still coughing, he stood up and winced; he'd landed badly on his leg.

He attempted to brush the soot out of his hair, and then gave up. Instead, he looked around at the shop he stood up in.

I didn't look like a pub. Instead, nearby was a glass case that held a withered hand on a cushion, a blood-stained pack of cards and a staring glass eye. Ryou shivered and looked away.

_[You know, Host… I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.]_

Ryou sighed. _[[Please, Bakura… Now is not the time.]]_

Bakura grumbled to himself. _[Just trying to lighten the mood.]_

_[[It's not working.]]_

"Excuse me, sir… Can I help you at all?" A stooping man with long, greasy hair had appeared behind the counter.

Ryou shuddered slightly. "Uh, no… I think I got the wrong fireplace… Uh…" He inched towards the door. Bakura mentally chuckled.

The man narrowed his eyes. "It's common courtesy to buy something when you enter a shop, boy."

"Uh... Uh… I don't have any money," Ryou stammered.

"Well, that can be remedied." The man had spotted the Millennium Ring dangling from Ryou's neck. "How much for the necklace, boy?"

Ryou looked down at the Ring. "It… It isn't for sale." He put his hand on the doorknob, but the man, moving with surprising speed, pushed him away.

"You see… I am a collector and purveyor of antiques, and your necklace looks like it would do better justice with me… _boy._" His tone was threatening now, and Ryou shivered and backed away.

The man walked towards him, holding out his hand. "Of course, I'll give you a good price for it. Name whatever you like."

"Uh… Seriously, it isn't for sale."

_[Let me take care of this, Host.]_

Ryou sighed and nodded. Bakura was better equipped to handle situations like these anyway, probably because he actually knew how to _use_ the artifact of Dark power that hung around his neck.

Bakura glared at the greasy man in front of him. "Touch me and pay a higher price than any you can offer, mortal."

Ryou inwardly sighed. _[[That's right, tell him you're an immortal spirit why don't you. In fact, shout it to the entire street!]]_

_[Not a bad idea…]_

_[[I was joking.]]_

_[I wasn't. It'll be better if we can really strike some _fear_ into these Wizards…]_

_[[Please don't.]]_

Bakura chuckled.

"What's the joke?" The old man's face was screwed up in a scowl as he continued to gesture for the Ring. When Bakura showed no sign of giving it to him, he started forwards again.

Bakura said three words, and the shop plunged into darkness. He grinned, feeling in his pocket for his deck, selecting a card at random.

The old man began to feel about, perhaps hoping to grab the Ring by chance.

"Not a chance, fool." Bakura walked forwards, breaking a cloud of black mist. Due to his night-time stroll yesterday, the body he shared didn't have enough energy to sustain the Shadow Realm for more than a few minutes, ten if he really pushed. He had to end this now.

"Dark Necrofear! Come forth!"

The dark demoness that carried twin swords shimmered into view, smiling in the anticipation of a kill. Bakura began to order her forward when he stopped.

The old man had realized something was wrong. He was cowering in the darkness, evidently attempting to reach Bakura's good side.

And, it was working.

_[[Do you really have to kill him, Yami?]]_

_[He tried to steal my Ring. For that, he must be punished.]_

_[[But not killed… right?]]_

_[Does this concern you, Host?]_

_[[Um…]]_

_[Exactly.]_ But Bakura couldn't be bothered to kill the old man any more. So, he thought up an on-the-spot alternative.

He dismissed Dark Necrofear with a wave of his hand, and then turned to the greasy old man.

"As long as you live, you will tell naught but the truth to everyone you encounter. You will not sell fake goods, nor attempt to intimidate people into selling theirs. Do I make myself clear?"

The old man nodded. "Don't kill me… I beg you…"

"Pah. Pathetic filth." Bakura dismissed the Shadow Realm, feeling the drain on his energy as he paced towards the door, savagely kicking the old man as he went. Then he leaned down and dusted off his trainer.

Then, he exited the shop.

An old wooden sign creaking above a shop that sold poisonous candles told him he was in Knockturn Alley. This didn't help.

_[[That really was mean, Yami…]]_

_[Mean is what I'm good at. Now be silent.]_

Bakura turned. This place was a thief's dream… There were shops dedicated to burglary, a weapons shop (Authentic silver sacrificial knives now in!), shops that sold poisons and their antidotes…

"Lost, dear?"

He turned, scowling. An old woman with broken teeth and a permanently repulsive expression was stood behind him. She held a tray of small black objects; on further inspection they looked like dried hearts.

"No." Bakura glared at her and she backed away, shivering.

He turned. There – a signpost that proclaimed 'Diagon Alley' to be at the end of the street and past a left turn.

He emerged from the dingy street into a much different setting. He was jostled multiple times by passersby who barely gave him a second glance. Shops to the left and right sold objects such as cauldrons, robes, spellbooks and an old and dusty shop proclaimed _Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC._

He dropped back and let Ryou take the lead. Both of them knew that in his current mood, he was liable to begin blasting everything in sight with the Shadows if he was pushed, shoved or jostled one more time.

_[It would be fun, though.]_

_[[I'm just glad you have some self-control.]]_

"Ryou! _Ryou!_"

Ryou turned. Kerah was pushing through the crowds towards him; Marik and Aunt Iza close behind. "You're OK! Oh, god, I thought you'd landed somewhere really bad…"

Ryou hugged her. "I'm fine. Well, mostly fine, anyway…"

"Mostly? What do you mean, mostly?"

"I appear to have got a lot of soot in my hair."

Kerah giggled. "You're always so vain about your hair…"

Aunt Iza beckoned them to a temporary refuge from the crowds outside a shop (Florean Fortescues Ice-cream Parlor!). "Now we're all here, we need money to buy your equipment." She fished out three pieces of parchment and handed them round. "These are your book and equipment lists. Once we've visited Gringotts,-"

"Gringotts?" This didn't need translating.

"The wizard bank, Marik. Now. Once we've been to Gringotts, you can all go off and buy your things. I hope I can trust you all to not get into trouble…" She looked pointedly at Marik, who she'd marked down as a troublemaker from the start.

"Don't worry, Mum. We'll keep Marik out of trouble." _And a pesky Thief, too._

"Well, then. This way, kids… And stay close to me. I don't want you being swept off in the tide."

The party re-entered the crowd of robed wizards and witches and slowly pushed their way towards a white marble building. It was immaculate on the outside, and Ryou admired the architecture as they headed up the stone stairs.

Inside the main doors were another, bronze pair, and then a silver pair with a poem inscribed upon it. Ryou stopped for a second, at Bakura's instruction, to read the engraved verse.

_[Fools… They're almost begging me to rob the place.]_

Ryou flinched slightly. _[[Please don't…]]_

_[Oh, I won't… Not today, at any rate.]_

Ryou sighed.

They passed through these doors into a long atrium paved with marble. Numerous counters stretched along its length, each staffed by – _[[I must be dreaming.]]_

Every counter was staffed by a short, ugly creature with pointed ears and a haughty expression. Ryou could instantly see that they weren't just people in masks, so… "They're real… Goblins or something…"

Bakura chuckled. _[Just like Monster World, hmm?]_

Ryou ignored him. Instead, he turned to Aunt Iza, frowning. "Um… I don't have any money… Well, I do, but it won't amount to much."

"No worries, dear. I'll just…" She fished out a small golden key from her pocket and blew on it to remove any dust. "This is the key to our families vault, Ryou."

Marik looked at it. "Your family has a vault here, Ryou?"

"Evidently." Ryou looked around at the wizards making transactions at the many counters, and spotted one that was free.

"Uh… hello?" The goblin-thing behind the counter ignored him, continuing to count coins into three piles. He cleared his throat again. "Hello?"

"I can hear you, you know." The goblin looked up at him. "Are you not taught manners, human?" Its voice was gravelly and hoarse.

"Oh… I'm sorry. I thought you didn't."

"Well, I did." It said something in a language Ryou didn't recognize. "What would you like to do, then?"

Aunt Iza stepped up. "We'd like to access my vault, please… Vault six hundred and sixty-six."

"The Bakura vault?" The goblin raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, please." Aunt Iza handed over the key.

The goblin took out a small telescopic object and closely examined the key. "Well, everything seems to be in order. This way."

He led the way to another set of doors in the back of the hall. Opening it, he revealed a long tunnel with several of what appeared to be mining carts parked on different tracks.

He pulled out a thick iron key and unlocked the chain that secured the furthest cart. He also grabbed a small sack from the bottom of the cart and handed around long metal rods that clanked when they were shook.

"Get in, please."

Kerah, Marik and Ryou piled into the cart. Aunt Iza stepped in, slightly more dignified.

The cart sat there for a few seconds while the goblin adjusted a control, and then it shot off into the darkness, taking every turn with a sickening one-wheel turn and wheeling through the straits.

Ryou – who hated rollercoasters, and felt sick even on Marik's motorbike – ducked his head beneath the rim of the cart, feeling slightly ill.

Kerah and Marik, in contrast, loved it. They raised their arms and screamed at the bends, just as if it were a real rollercoaster ride. It made a nice contrast – dark tan next to albino white.

The goblin frowned. "Please, keep it down. The stalactites in the tunnels are fragile and may fall if you make too much noise."

Kerah grinned and stopped screaming, nudging Marik. "He said to stop."

Marik stopped, as a light tinkling sound that echoed oddly around the tunnel made the stalactites above them wobble threateningly.

Then, the first fell. It smashed on the ground many meters below, causing a shockwave of sound that caused the others to begin to fall.

The cart somehow accelerated, and a shimmering shield appeared above the cart that protected it from the falling needles.

"As I said," The goblins voice rose above the sound of crashing stone, "They fell. Now, silence is necessary, please."

None of the three made a noise for the rest of the journey.

When the cart finally screeched to a stop, the first to stagger out was Ryou, breathing heavily and slightly green. He coughed and leant against a natural column until the feeling came back into his limbs

"Can't take a little speed, Ryou?" Marik wandered over and clapped him on the shoulder.

"It's worse than your motorbike." Ryou's face was paler than usual. Bakura chuckled. _[I-]_

_[[You enjoyed it. Yes.]]_

"Uh, boys… When you're done doing whatever you're doing, come and take a look at this."

Ryou looked up and Marik pulled him to his feet. Then both of them looked towards where Kerah was pointing.

"Wow…"

White columns surrounded a large marble door. Upon the door was engraved the Eye of Wadjet, and it gleamed with light that seemed to come from within.

"This is one of the oldest vaults. We found it when we excavated the tunnels, and it only reacts to a certain magic, or object – we don't yet know. We can attest, however, that it only belongs to the one that can open it."

The goblin turned to Ryou. "If my intuition is right, and it normally isn't, you can open the vault. I knew as soon as I saw you."

Ryou looked at his aunt. "What about the key?"

The goblins gravelly voice sounded out. "The key is fake, but it has an engraving upon it so we know who the vault traditionally belongs to."

Ryou looked at the door. _[[I think this is more your department, Yami…]]_

_[Too true.]_

The Millennium Ring glowed slightly and Bakura took over. With a grin he held out his hand to the door.

"Open, Vault of Souls. Open to the voice and the power of your master!"

* * *

Litzana: So, now we have the first part of Diagon Alley. Next part up soon... Sorry about the cliffhanger ending.

Bakura: Vault of Souls, hmm? Sounds exciting.

Ryou: I think I know where this is leading to...


	9. Diagon Alley

_Yu-Gi-Oh! and Harry Potter come together to bring you:_

**_Arc of Solitude_**

_Chapter Nine: Diagon alley, part two_

* * *

The Millennium Ring glowed with a blinding light, and the Eye engraved on the door glowed with an answering light. The door began to rumble open, gold light leaking through the crack. Bakura chuckled as he walked forward through the door.

The vault itself was easily twenty-five meters square. Scattered on the floor were hundreds of coins, mostly silver and bronze but a few gold too. From the walls hung other, larger pieces, ranging from swords and knives to Egyptian artifacts and medieval battle armor.

Bakura paced in, grinning. "Heh heh… My secret hoard somehow found its way here. Evidently some antiques collector found it and locked it away… And with good reason."

Marik picked up one of the coins, gazing at the glimmering gold. "All this is _yours_?"

Bakura ignored him. His gaze was trained on the back wall, where a long red robe was hung, magically placed so that the arms were splayed out and the body opened out.

"My…" He had reverted to the language he'd thought he'd forgotten – Ancient Egyptian. Ryou, watching through their shared eyes, couldn't understand the words coming out of his own mouth.

_[[What is it?]]_

_[Hush, Host.]_

Bakura walked up to the wall so that he was standing underneath the garment, and slowly touched it. Whatever magic held the garment to the wall unraveled, and it fell into Bakura's arms.

He looked closer at it, noting the gold-cream colored lining and the patch of darker red upon one sleeve.

"This is my own robe… The one I…"

Marik and Kerah walked up to Bakura, standing either side of him.

"Bakura… What's that?" Marik picked up a limp sleeve, trailing on the floor. The material was heavy, and flowed, like silk.

Bakura shook himself. "Nothing. It's… It's nothing."

He folded the robe up and stuffed it in the Messanger bag that Ryou had put on earlier.

"Right. In five minutes, I'm leaving. The vault will shut when it can't detect the Millennium Ring, so pick up what you want and get the hell out."

There was a pause as Kerah translated for Marik, then both Kerah and Marik rushed to stuff the coins littering the floor into small leather bags. Bakura himself paced along the walls, evaluating the 'collection' that was stored here.

He stopped beneath a leather bandolier hung on the wall. Hanging from straps upon it were half-a-dozen worn, slightly rusted knives of varying lengths.

He reached up and touched it, the magic holding it in place dissolving and the bandolier falling into his arms. He reached up under his shirt and buckled it around his chest.

_[Evidently this body isn't as old as my old one, so my personal effects won't fit as well. Even so, it's better to have them than just a Butterfly-knife.]_

Ryou sighed mentally. _[[Yami, why-]]_

_[I've gone over five thousand years without my knives. I am not putting them back.]_

_[[But-]]_

_[Live with it, Host. These knives are still sharp enough that I can give you a new wound if I want to.]_

Ryou fell silent. The wound on his right arm had taken weeks to heal properly and scar after Battle City. He didn't want to go through that again.

Bakura grinned, then reached down and picked up a handful of gold, watching the coins trickle through his fingers. _[I do so love gold.]_

He stuffed the coins into a leather bag that he pulled out of his shoulder bag, and soon the bag was full.

Then, he noticed Marik eyeing up a shelf of golden jewelry. Bakura recognized this jewelry – He'd stolen it from the tomb of an Egyptian Pharaoh and it had a curse upon it.

"I wouldn't if I were you, Marik."

"What?"

But Bakura was now walking out the door, and Marik and Kerah had to run to catch it as it rumbled shut behind him.

"All done?" Aunt Iza was waiting outside the vault with the goblin. Bakura and Ryou switched back – Bakura seemed content with just waiting for his next chance to cause mayhem. Ryou sensed his glee at recovering his old knives.

"Well, I believe that we all have enough money to tide us over, so, yup! We're finished."

Ryou looked back at the door. The Eye engraved upon it seemed to looking deep inside him, and he shivered and turned away.

"Everyone back onto the cart, then." The goblin's gravelly voice echoed in the cavern, and he looked at Ryou with slightly more respect as he helped him on.

The journey back into Gringotts was silent. Nobody made a sound, and Ryou sat with his head in his hands as the cart violently ricocheted around the corners and almost sent them flying multiple times.

Bakura laughed manically when Ryou tripped over the edge of the cart in his haste to get out the tunnels. The goblin had to haul him back onto the edge of the tunnel as Ryou looked down into the dark abyss he had almost fallen into.

They quickly hustled out of the bank. Aunt Iza left them on the steps.

"Remember, now, I'll meet you at four O'clock in the Leaky Cauldron. You kids enjoy yourselves, and remember to get everything on the list!"

The trio waved her off, and then Marik turned to Ryou. "Where first?"

Ryou pulled out the list of equipment. "I think a wand, first. Hey, Kerah, wait…"

Kerah had charged down the marble stairs, and was heading up the street towards the shop they'd passed earlier. She looked back and saw the two boys loitering outside the bank.

"Well, come on, then!"

Ryou shook his head and followed her. Marik brought up the rear.

[I]Dring [/i]

The sound of an old bell rang out as the trio entered the shop. Ryou looked around – the walls of the shop were lined with shelves and shelves of long, thin boxes. A counter was crammed into one corner, also piled high with these curious packages.

"Hello? Anybody here?" Kerah walked up to the counter and rang the old brass bell that was barely visible underneath the boxes.

Something rustled and Kerah eep'd, jumping back and clinging on to Marik. A man appeared out of the shadows behind one of the shelf units, and his wheezy voice sounded out across the room.

"Can I help you at all?"

"Um… We'd like to buy a wand…" Ryou smiled hesitantly at the man, taking in his short grey hair and spectacles perched on the end of his nose. He wore a leather apron, and his hands were encased in thick gloves.

"Ah, yes. Albus told me you would be coming. Wand arm, please." He whipped out a tape measure and waited for Ryou to extend his arm.

"Wand arm?"

"The arm you write with."

"Oh." Ryou extended his left hand, and the tape measure shot into action, measuring the distance between his shoulder and hand, his index finger and his thumb, around his elbow, and then slightly more exotic places, like the distance between his eyes and the length of the spikes in his hair.

"Hmm. Difficult one, are you?"

The old man turned and disappeared into the mess of boxes at the back of the shop, returning with a pile of boxes that he dumped on the counter. He opened the first one, and pulled out a wand that looked to be made from ash, or yew.

"Thirteen inches, Unicorn hair, yew, good for Transfiguration. Try?"

Ryou took the wand and stupidly stood with it, not knowing what to do.

"Well, give it a wave!"

Ryou smiled sheepishly and raised it, only to have it snatched from him and replaced with another one.

"Twelve and a quarter inches, Hungarian Horntail Dragon heartstring, willow. Quite springy. Try?"

Ryou took this wand and raised it, only to have it snatched from him.

This went on for a while. Every wand that Ryou was given was snatched from him, until the old man went back into the back of the shop and came back with an extremely thick, yellowed box. He held it with some reverence, and opened the lid to show three wands.

"I think you're quite unusual, Mr. Bakura… Try this one. Dual Silver Birch and Ebony, with an extremely unusual core – A long hair from the tail of a Kitsune fox, wrapped around the tail feather of a Phoenix. Fourteen inches, stiff. A very powerful wand."

Ryou took the wand and a sudden heat spread up his arm. He waved it and it glowed with a sudden heat as the Millennium Ring somehow boosted its power. A black shadow erupted out of the end of the wand, followed by a beam of bright light.

"Ow!" He almost dropped the wand, and transferred it to his other hand, sucking his fingers. _[[What was that for?]]_

Bakura's mental voice sounded extremely perplexed. _[I did nothing, Host.]_

_[[Hn.]]_

The wand was taken out of his hand and put into an empty box, which was tied up with a purple ribbon. Unusual, huh?

Marik was up next. It didn't take him nearly as long to find his wand – only the two left in the box seemed to attract the old man's attention.

"Well, I think this one… Yes. Palm and phoenix tail feather, twelve inches, springy. Another powerful wand; quite an unusual combination."

Marik took the wand and waved it, accidentally causing a fine stream of sand to spill out the tip, all over Kerah. She spluttered and shook it out her hair. "Watch it, Egyptian-boy!"

The Millennium Rod glowed slightly and the stream stopped, the wand heating up to a very high temperature. Marik dropped the wand and sucked his fingers, grimacing.

The old man stooped forward and retrieved the wand, placing it in a green-ribbon tied box.

The final wand was handed to Kerah. "Again, Silver birch, with the heartstring of a Japanese White Dragon. Thirteen inches, good for Charms."

Kerah took the wand and waved it, causing three extremely sharp feathers to shoot out of the end, narrowly missing Marik's head. She grinned. "Oops!"

Marik wasn't impressed.

Kerah then dropped the wand, the Millennium Amulet – the Eighth Millennium Item, made separately from the other Seven – glowed too, and the wand heated up. The old man retrieved this one, too, and placed it in another long box.

They pulled out their moneybags to pay for the wands, and exited the shop. Bakura chuckled.

_[Well, Host. How interesting… This new magic seems to have been accepted rather quickly by the Shadows. Hmm…]_

Ryou ignored him. When Bakura got into his own mental train of thought, he didn't take kindly to having it derailed.

The trio spent the next few happy hours meandering up and down Diagon Alley, buying their equipment and a few extras. They had to drag Marik out the sweet shop – "Marik, you know what Ishizu said about sugar!" – and Kerah insisted on them all buying a broomstick.

One great discovery that they made, though – Language pills. A little bottle of pills, each one lasting a week, which overwrote the takers main language and replaced it with a language of their choice. Among the selection were English, German, Japanese, and more exotic ones like Troll and Gobbledygook.

Marik bought five bottles.

Finally, at half past three, one thing remained.

Animals.

The wandered back up the street, towards Eeylops Owl Emporium, where Ryou had said he would visit. The postal system in this world was quite fascinating, mimicking the pigeon post used in the First World War.

Bakura huffed. _[It isn't really all that fascinating, Host. This system is prone to massive flaws that could compromise the everyday workings.]_

_[[How do you know?]]_ Ryou was interested now.

_[We used a similar system in my past. Although the birds were different; Commoners got everyday birds, Scribes got Ibises, Priests got eagles and the most senior priests and the Pharaoh got a Falcon.]_

_[[Hm. I guess that is flawed, since thieves knew, if they saw a carrier bird, which was sending it.]]_

_[Exactly.] _Bakura sounded smug.

They entered the dark, musty shop. Wings shuffled and soft hoots came from the rafters and perches along the walls.

"Well, what do you think?" Ryou looked around at all the large birds. One in particular caught his eye – a black owl, only visible due to its yellow eyes, trained on him.

A screech came from the back of the shop. That sound was definitely not an owl.

Ryou moved further in, leaving Marik and Kerah standing uncomfortably by the entrance.

"Good day to you, sir." A tall, black-haired man wearing a pair of bird-training gloves appeared from the dark shadows behind Ryou, who jumped. "May I help you?"

"Um… I don't really know which one to choose." His eyes were drawn to the bird on the mans wrist. It wasn't an owl – instead it was a brazen Falcon that looked at Ryou as if it wanted to rip his head off.

Bakura was overjoyed. _[They stock falcons! Ha! I always knew I could finally get a bird worth my title!]_

_[[Um… It looks really dangerous…]]_

_[Nonsense.] _Bakura took over, and smiled at the man. "How much for the falcon?"

The man looked surprised at his customer's change of subject. "What, this? He won't obey you, yet. I'm training him in the postal trade 'cos his egg was mixed up with a batch of Owl's Eggs, but he only knows the basics."

"Good enough. How much?"

The man hesitated, then relented. "Six Galleons, that includes cage and food for a couple months."

"Fine." Bakura forked over the money from his rather light moneybag.

"We also offer a food order service for when you can't come here directly. That's five Sickles per delivery, which comes once a month."

"Fine." Bakura gave this money over too, and the man went into the depths of the shop to find a cage and the other items.

When he came back a couple of minutes later, he was devoid of the training gloves and instead held a cage with the slightly annoyed falcon inside, along with a bag containing 'Owl pellets' and 'Owl Chunks'.

"He'll feed himself anyway, so this food's just for emergencies."

"Fine." The man surrendered the falcon and the food over to Bakura, who took them with a grin and swept out of the shop. _[I shall call him Horus.]_

Ryou just sighed.

Marik gawped at the falcon whose cage Bakura was carrying. "I thought this was an Owl Shop?"

Bakura just grinned and gave back control to Ryou, who rolled his eyes.

The trio proceeded to 'Magical Menagerie', where Marik went straight to the display of cats and Kerah looked at the more exotic animals. Ryou waited outside with his falcon, at least until there was a crash and a distinctly Kerah-like shriek.

"Kerah!"

Ryou rushed into the darkened shop to see his cousin thrashing around, with something long and thin with large wings tangled in her hair. The shopkeeper was attempting to calm her down, but she wasn't responding to him.

Ryou took hold of Kerahs arm long enough for the shopkeeper to disentangle the creature… And both the white-haired teens' mouths dropped open in surprise.

_It was a miniature Blue-Eyes White Dragon!_

It had calmed down sufficiently to sit on the shopkeepers shoulder and glare at Ryou. Kerah giggled. "It's so cute!"

Marik sauntered over with a sandy-colored cat sat on his shoulder. The cat was purring, a soft rumble that seemed to soothe the dragon. It curled its wings and hummed slightly.

Kerah reached out to it, and then remembered her manners. "Can I?"

The shopkeeper nodded and moved the dragon into her arms.

"What breed is it?" asked Ryou, noting its remarkable resemblance to the Blue-Eyes.

"What ya got there is a Pygmy Japanese White. Pretty rare, them. O'course, trading dragons is illegal, but Pygmys're OK because they don't breathe fire and they aren't as vicious."

"I want it!" Kerah squealed, stroking the dragon under the chin. It coughed, and a small bolt of white electricity shot from its jaws, scorching the counter.

Marik gestured to the cat on his shoulder. "I'd like this one, please." It attempted to bat his bangs, and he stroked it.

The language pills were working well – Everything Marik had said for the past hour had come out as English. Of course, Marik had to remember to attempt to speak Arabic – his main language.

They paid for their animals and left the shop, heading back toward the Leaky Cauldron, laden down with bags and boxes. Of course, Kerah was bag-free; Marik had offered to carry hers for her. Bakura had chuckled at this – "Maybe you should get a job as a porter, Tomb Keeper," – and Marik had gone red-faced.

The little Blue-Eyes in its portable cage was restless; it kept flapping its wings and glaring at Horus and Marik's cat, who he'd called Sekhmet.

When they'd returned to the Leaky Cauldron, Marik piled the double load of items onto one of the seats surrounding a table. Aunt Iza spotted them and hurried over.

"All done?" She looked disapprovingly at the dragon and falcon. Ryou grinned at her.

"Yes, Aunt Iza. Thank you! We had a great time."

Marik nodded. "Yeah, it was splendid!"

Aunt Iza raised her eyebrows at Mariks proclamation – in English.

He smiled at her. "Language pills," he said.

She smiled back at him. "Excellent. This'll save a lot of hassle… I remember when Kerah was learning to speak and read Japanese. Absolute nightmare." She turned to the barkeeper, a toothless old man. "We're ready to go, Tom."

"Right y'are. Good to see you again, Izabelle."

"And you, too."

The trio picked up their baggage and faced the wall, there were several lit fireplaces.

Tom brought over a flowerpot full of the same glittering powder that had brought them there. Ryou looked at it warily.

"Go on, then."

Ryou took a pinch of the powder and threw it into one of the roaring fireplaces in the wall. With a shout of "Seven, Privet Drive!" He was gone.

Marik went next and Kerah after him. Izabelle pulled Tom into a hug and followed the kids.

Tom blushed as the fire returned to yellow.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's finished. Whew!

Bakura: Took you long enough.

Ryou: Yami, be nice!

Marik: So when are we actually going to get to Hogwarts?

Me: Well, first you have to meet Harry, then the fiasco at the World Cup, then... uh... So, yeah. About four chapters, maybe less, before you get on the train.

Bakura: [/sarcasm] Joys.

Ryou: Well, people. You know the drill. Please review, or Bakura might do something bad to you. And Marik might join in.

Kerah: Oh, ignore him. He's only joking... right? Right?


	10. The First Challenge

This chapter's a bit short, but I thought it would be an appropriate place to stop. If anyone out there plots duels, could they betaread my framework before I begin to flesh it out?

Just say in your review, if you think you'd like to. ^^

_Yu-Gi-Oh! and Harry Potter come together in:_

**_Arc of Solitude_**

_Chapter 10 Part one: The First Challenge_

* * *

The next few weeks of the holidays were pure bliss. Just lounging about with nothing to do; only Marik could find something to complain about.

"I thought English summer weather was supposed to be hot!"

Kerah and Ryou just grinned and rolled their eyes.

Of course, there were a few peculiarities. For example, the Duelling Club.

Kerah had joined an already existing duelling community which was based in Little Whinging. On the first Wednesday of the holidays, she dragged the boys along…

OOO

"Kerah, do we have to go?" Ryou dragged his feet down the stairs, from where he'd been setting up a Monster World campaign. Marik trooped down with him, Duel Disk on arm. (He had borrowed a spare one of Kerahs.)

"Yes, you do. My house, my rules. Come on, it's only a bit of fun! You don't have to duel if you don't want to."

Ryou eventually relented, and Kerah handed him her second spare Duel Disk. "Just in case." She winked at him.

Bakura chuckled. _[She can wrap you round her little finger, Host.]_

Ryou neglected to comment.

Surprisingly, instead of heading straight to the park, which was where the duels took place, Kerah crossed the street to Number Four.

"The guy who lives here, Harry, likes to tag along. I'm teaching him the game."

Marik was flicking through his Slime Revival deck. "I hope you're ready for that rematch, 'Kura!"

Bakura fazed into view in Spirit Form and glared at him, before commenting to Ryou, _"I'll trounce him, like I've done before."_

Marik grinned. "In your dreams, Thief King." Then he realised what he'd said. "Whoa! I can see you!"

Bakura chuckled nastily. _"Evidently. Either that or you're crazier than you are already."_

Marik whistled. "When your hallucinations tell you you're crazy, that's a cause for worry."

"Alright, you two. That's enough." Kerah grinned and rang the doorbell.

A muffled "Ruddy salespeople!" came from inside the house, and the door was flung open. A ruddy, overweight man in a black shirt and tie opened the door, frowning at the trio stood on the doorstep. "I'm not buying- Oh, it's you, Kerah."

"Yes, mister Dursley, sir. I came to see if Harry could come out with us for a bit?"

The man – presumably Mr. Dursley – looked at the two teens stood behind Kerah, noting the outlandish tanned boy and the one who was just as pale as Kerah. His eyes passed over Bakura without seeing him. "Who're they?"

"Oh, I do apologise! This is Ryou, my cousin, and Marik, his friend. They're visiting from Japan, and will start school here in the autumn."

Ryou sheepishly raised a hand in greeting and Marik grinned at him.

The man snorted and said "Ruddy immigrants," under his breath. "BOY!"

OOO

Harry sat in his room, as usual. His gaze swept the room, taking in its untidy appearance. He lingered on Hedwig's empty cage. He'd sent her off with a note for Sirius, and she hadn't returned yet.

The doorbell rang, and he rolled his eyes. He heard a female voice through his open window, and his uncles rumbling voice.

"BOY!"

Harry sighed and slid off his bed. Casting one final glance at his owl's empty cage, he left the room and trooped down the stairs.

His uncle was blocking the view of the front door. Harry cleared his throat and he moved aside.

Harry caught a view of the two he'd watched the previous Sunday, and then his friend, Kerah, stepped into view.

"Harry! You ready?"

Harry grinned. This was better than what he'd expected. "Hang on," he said, turning to run back up the stairs and grab his deck.

His uncle took hold of his shoulder. "Now, boy, remember the rules. No funny business."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, Uncle Vernon."

"Right. Remember, you've still got your chores to do, boy, so you'll be working hard when you get back!"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon."

"And don't answer back!"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon."

Uncle Vernon released his grip on Harry and went back into the front room, muttering about "Ruddy foreigners."

Harry clattered back down the stairs, deck in hand. Both he and Kerah wandered back down the path, to where Ryou and Marik were having a heated discussion about the best kind of card.

"I think fiends are best, you know? They're best for an Overwhelming Deck."

"_I second that notion."_

"Well, Slime is better. Slime is _self-reviving_."

"_Occult is best. End of."_

Bakura looked up and vanished as Harry and Kerah approached.

The group headed off down the road, towards the park that formed the center of Little Whinging.

As Harry dropped back to walk with Ryou, the whitenettes back twinged. Two points of pained flared up and he stumbled slightly.

_[Find out more about him.] _Bakura's voice was urgent, and insistent.

OOO

Harry looked closely at the white-haired boy. He'd seen him somewhere before…

_Oh, yeah! He was in my dream!_

The boy walking next to him was the one he had attacked.

The teen stumbled and Harry helped him up. "Um… Hello. I haven't seen you around before."

The other boy looked round and smiled. "Hi. I'm Ryou, and I guess you're Harry."

Harry raised an eyebrow. Ryou answered the unspoken question; "Kerah told me. I'm her cousin."

"You look like her twin."

"I'm not." Ryou smiled. "Please don't say that in front of her, she doesn't take kindly to it."

"Doesn't take kindly to what?" Kerah had dropped back to walk with them. Marik had charged ahead, even though he had no idea where he was going.

_[He can see me.]_

_[[What?]]_

_[I saw him glance at me before I dispersed my Spirit Form. He's a wizard, or at the very least he owns a wand.]_

_[[What about that snake? In his mind?]]_

_[Don't worry about that.]_

In fact, Bakura felt stronger than ever, thanks to said snake. He'd used the power of the Ring to tap into the natural power of whatever it was, and draw it into him.

Of course, the snake had been poisonous.

And, it had sunk its fangs into the back of his hosts' soul-form.

Bakura was on the lookout for any effects, and it seemed that the snake was, at that time, attempting to create a link between the two minds.

But so far, it appeared to have done nothing.

"Uh… Nothing." Harry and Ryou grinned at each other.

"Come on, you three! What's keeping you?"

They had reached the park, and a half-dozen or so people were milling around, Duel Disks on their arms.

Marik was waving at them.

"Oh, yeah… Who's he?"

Ryou grinned at his friend. "He's from Egypt. His name's Marik."

Marik raced up to Ryou, grabbing him by the arm. "Come _on_, Bakura! They've marked out duel fields and everything!"

Then, one of the people caught sight of Ryou. She glared at him, and her eyes shone a bright red.

She stormed over so she could get a better look at him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him around. Ryou gasped, as he caught sight of the girl – dressed in none other than a Vampire Lady outfit.

"Not very occult, are you? For the Japanese Master of the occult, I mean."

Ryou gently freed his arm and backed away from her. "Um… I don't really know what you mean."

The girl laughed nastily. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Haven, Mistress of the Occult Circles in England. You, of course, are the Occult Master in Japan, since you are the highest duellist in the rankings who runs an Occult Deck."

Ryou flushed. "Uh… I guess…"

Haven smiled at him. "Then, you won't mind if I challenge you for your title?"

Marik frowned, stepping up to his friend's side. "I called dibs. Come on, Ryou, let's go."

"_No, wait."_ Bakura had appeared in Spirit Form, standing at his hosts shoulder. _"I can sense something odd about this girl. She's not just an ordinary cosplaying duellist."_

Ryou grinned at Marik. "This won't take a minute, Marik. I promise you you'll get your duel."

He turned to the vampire-girl. "Well… uh… Haven…"

"This way." Haven led the way to the duel field in the center of the cluster. The small crowd gathered round the field as the two duellists took their positions.

* * *

So, yeah. If you want to betaread my duel, just say in a review or PM me.

TTFN, my loyal readers!


	11. Intermission

Hello there, it's Litz again. Good gracious, it's been ages since I last uploaded on this.

The reason, of course, being pure procrastination and total forgetfulness. And I'm very sorry.

But I am intending to continue with this story.

Yeah, I thought that would get your attention.

But first, I have written a duel for the next chapter and I'd quite like it if someone could beta it for me. If not, that's fine and I'll upload it, but my duel plotting skills are slightly rusty and I don't want to get anything wrong.

So, expect the new chapter in around a week... Or, if I get a beta, slightly longer.

So!

Ta-ta, readers!


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